Say what you want about the New England Patriots defense, but there’s no denying Vince Wilfork's status as one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL.

That point was recently echoed by CBSSports.com’s Pat Kirwan, who lists Wilfork as the third best defensive lineman in the NFL. Kirwan also believes that Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones could become one of the league’s best defensive ends by midseason.

In grading Wilfork, Kirwan notes his improved stamina. In previous years, Wilfork came off the field in passing situations, which limited him to a combined 1,179 snaps during the 2008 and 2009 seasons (30 games). Last season, he played 1,041 snaps, including playoffs.

“Wilfork has outstanding range along the line of scrimmage and that’s the reason New England plays him at DE more often than he lines up in his original nose tackle position,” Kirwan writes.

Wilfork finished last season with 48 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Kirwan also believes that the Patriots found a building block in Jones, who impressed the CBS analyst by showing up ready to play sooner than expected.

“Jones lined up at RDE in the Patriots' 4-3 defense as a rookie last year. Some thought it would take two years for Jones to be strong enough to play well in the NFL, but he demonstrated he was much further along than anticipated,” he writes.

Jones recorded six sacks and appeared to be on his way to the defensive rookie of the year award before being slowed by an ankle injury midway through the year. His ability to build on that early success will be one of the keys to New England’s season.